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The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)
The Idiot's Lantern 'is the seventh episode of the second series of ''Doctor Who. It was written by Mark Gatiss, directed by Euros Lyn and featured David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. Overview To be added Synopsis The Doctor and Rose arrive in 1950s London on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. They immediately notice the large number of TV antennas sprouting from every rooftop and also witness people being publicly bundled into cars and driven away. Upon further investigation, Rose and the Doctor realise that a something is feeding on peoples' brainwaves leaving them faceless and mindless. With the help of a teenager whose grandmother has been taken away, the Doctor begins to uncover what is happening. Plot Magpie starts closing up his electronics shop on a horribly rainy night. While he writes up the books, the antennae on the roof is struck by a flash of red lightning. While he sleeps, the presenter on the television screen behind him starts addressing him. While he tries to convince himself that it's a dream, three red streams of energy emerge from the screen and wrap themselves around his face as it starts to get sucked into the television while the woman laughs. The following day, the TARDIS lands on a nearby street and Rose, dressed in a typical 1950s dollybird outfit, steps out, the Doctor having promised to take her to see Elvis. To Rose's amusement, he drives a small motorscooter out of the TARDIS and they ride off toward Ed Sullivan TV studio; Rose then points out that the studio is in New York and they've clearly arrived in London, evident from all the bunting hung up down the street. Meanwhile, the patriarch of a local household, Eddie Connolly prides himself over the purchase of their new TV but gets frustrated at his wife when she worries about her mother and shouts at her. Outside, Magpie delivers another TV set to a house when he is approached by the Doctor and Rose and confirms their date and time. While the Doctor is pleased by the time at which they've arrived, his reveling is interrupted by two men in suits dragging a third man with a sheet over his head being dragged from his house as his wife cries out. The Connolly's boy, Tommy infers to the Doctor that there are more going missing around the estate before his father calls him back in. The Doctor and Rose give chase to the police car but round a bend and find it disappeared; Rose suggests they go and ask the neighbors. In Magpie's shop, he confers with the woman on the television again, who agrees that she'll leave once he's done what she wants, informing him that the time of her jubilation is coming. In the Connolly's house, Tommy goes upstairs to his grandmother's locked room when Eddie discovers him and bullies him into giving him the key. Dragging him back downstairs, he continues to shout at his son and screams at his wife Rita when she voices her own concerns, terrifying her. Their argument is interrupted by the arrival of the Doctor and Rose at the door; flashing his psychic paper, the Doctor claims that they are investigating on behalf of Queen and country and they flounce inside. Momentarily putting Mr. Connolly in his place, the Doctor delicately asks why Tommy and Rita are so upset, but before either of them can explain, Eddie tries to order the travellers to back off and leave. Dropping the delicate demeanour, the Doctor screams Connolly out of his bullying and orders him to tell them what's happening. They hear Gran banging from upstairs and Tommy explains that people have been changing all around, when they are abruptly taken away with no explanation. Going upstairs, Tommy opens her door and shows them that her face is completely gone. While the Doctor examines her, the same black car pulls up outside and the two policemen barge into the house and take her, punching the Doctor out when he tries to stop them. When he recovers, he takes off in pursuit with the scooter while Rose, observing red electricity emanating from behind the Connolly's television, is left behind; spotting the brand for Magpie's shop on the back, she leave the house and heads there. Meanwhile, the Doctor loses the police car again but spots how it got away. Sneaking round the back, the Doctor breaks inside the compound with his sonic and watches the policemen lock her in a pen. Waiting until they leave, he breaks into the pen and finds it full of faceless people. As they advance on him, the police discover him. Rose arrives at Magpie's shop and interrogates the electrician about his giving the entire block a television for the cheap. The television starts talking to Rose as Magpie locks the shop; before she can understand what she's seeing, the red lightning shoots from the screen and wraps around the face, starting to suck it into the screen as she begs Magpie for help. At the compound, the Doctor is interrogated by Detective Inspector Bishop about what he knows about the faceless people; realising that Bishop is desperate to investigate the cause of the faceless people, the Doctor offers his help. While Bishop shows him all the information about the faceless people, Bishop's man Crabtree brings the faceless Rose into the compound, having found her wandering alone in the street. The Doctor is disgusted and furious and declares that nothing is going to get in his way now. While the Connolly's host a gathering of friends ready to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Mr Connolly secretly continues to bully Rita into compliance. Answering the door, Tommy finds the Doctor asking about what happened the night is Gran changed. Eddie storms out and starts shouting at Tommy about damaging his reputation; finally sick of his arrogance and bullying, Tommy calls him a coward and a fascist, revealing that the police only found all the faceless people, including his gran, because he'd reported them to protect his precious reputation. Rita overhears this and, horrified at this truth, tells Tommy to go and do some good with the Doctor while declaring her husband a monster and locking him out before returning to the party. Tommy leaves with the Doctor and Bishop while Eddie is left dumbstruck, standing alone at the door. Learning from Tommy that his Gran changed while watching TV, the Doctor breaks into Magpie's shop and looks around, finding a portable television unit in the draw. Scanning around the room, all the victims' faces start appearing on televisions throughout the shop including Tommy's gran and Rose. When Magpie returns, the Doctor demands he restore everybody when they are met by the woman on the screen, calling herself 'The Wire'. She explains she was executed on her home for gorging herself on the electrical activity of the brains of her people but managed to escape across space as an electrical creature. The Doctor deduces her plan to transfer herself to the portable unit to receive all the electrical activity of everybody watching the coronation so she can manifest. To avoid interference, she starts absorbing the Doctor, Tommy and Bishop but the Doctor takes out his sonic and she withdraws. The Doctor and Tommy are spared but Bishop loses his face as the Wire transfers to the portable unit and Magpie drives her to Alexandra Palace. After taking components from the shop and fetching some equipment from the TARDIS, the Doctor and Tommy give chase. As the population watches the coronation, Magpie starts ascending the mast of the broadcast tower to plug the Wire in. The Doctor attaches his machine to the controls of the broadcast station and chases Magpie up the tower as he plugs the Wire in and she starts absorbing everybody watching the broadcast from Magpie's televisions. As she tries to stop the Doctor, she also kills Magpie; the Doctor connects the Wire to his machine when it breaks down but Tommy manages to repair it just in time and she is dragged into it while all the faceless people are restored to normal. Returning downstairs, the Doctor explains to Tommy that he trapped the Wire in a VHS tape by turning her broadcaster into a receiver. Outside, Tommy reunites with his Gran while the Doctor finds Rose restored too. Rita, having seen the truth about Eddie, throws him out as the street celebrates. While the Doctor tells Rose that he plans on taping over the Wire, he gives Tommy the motorscooter and he and Rose send Tommy off after his dad while they continue with the celebrations. Cast * The Doctor - David Tennant * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper * The Wire - Maureen Lipman * Magpie - Ron Cook * Eddie Connolly - Jamie Foreman * Rita Connolly - Debra Gillett * Tommy Connolly - Rory Jennings * Grandma Connolly - Margaret John * Detective Inspector Bishop - Sam Cox * Crabtree - Ieuan Rhys * Aunty Betty - Jean Challis * Security Guard - Christopher Driscoll * Mrs Gallagher - Marie Lewis Crew To be added References To be added Story Notes To be added Continuity To be added Home video and audio releases To be added External Links * Official ''The Idiot's Lantern'' page on '''Doctor Who Website